World Economic Forum launches GAIA to accelerate responsible AI adoption

The WEF's new platform will work to ensure that AI governance reflects best practices in data governance

The World Economic Forum (WEF) announced on Thursday that it was launching the Global AI Action Alliance (GAIA), an initiative to speed up development and adoption of trusted and inclusive artificial intelligence across industry sectors.

AI could contribute an estimated $15 trillion in new economic value and add 14 per cent to global GDP by 2030, experts say. That could make AI the biggest economic opportunity of the next decade, representing more value than today's oil and gas, insurance, automotive and commercial real estate industries combined.

But AI also has risks, specifically those associated with the use of unethical or unsafe systems. Recent controversies surrounding the use of facial recognition and automated decision-making suggest that realising the full potential of AI will require strong support from people as well as governments, based on the trust that AI is being developed and applied in an ethical way.

The WEF says its new multi-stakeholder GAIA platform will bring the world's leading AI developers and users together. It will collaborate closely with the WEF's Industry Action Groups and its Data for Common Purpose Initiative (DCPI) "to ensure that AI governance reflects best practices in data governance and is interoperable globally and across industry sectors".

The project is part of the WEF's Shaping the Future of Technology Governance: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Platform, and will be supported by a grant from the Patrick J McGovern Foundation for funding and supporting AI and data projects.

Over 100 organisations - including private firms, government entities, academic institutions and non-profit organisations - are working together as part of the initiative.

GAIA will be guided by a steering committee of top business leaders, including IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, International Trade Union Confederation general secretary Sharan Burrow and executives from UNESCO and the OECD, among others.

Arvind Krishna will act as co-chair along with Vilas Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.

"It is an honour to co-lead the Global AI Action Alliance and to contribute IBM's expertise in AI ethics to accelerate the group's work," Krishna said.

The WEF stated: "No single organisation can address the full range of challenges presented by AI, nor can any one actor deliver the immense benefits that AI can offer to society."

"With so many challenges to overcome and so many opportunities to unlock, only robust collaboration can ensure that we maximise the benefits of AI and distribute them equitably across society."